Welcome to Orlando Weekly's "Band of the Week." Every week, we highlight one of our favorite local bands. This week, we're pleased to bring you Pangolin.
Pangolin are playing an album release show on Nov. 9 at the Falcon with Dial Drive, 430 Steps, Kid You Not, and Uncomfortably Sticky.
Just the facts:
Who's in the band?
- Gary Pounds: Guitar and Vocals
- Kenneth Leeming Jr.: Guitar and Vocals
- Jon Lane: Bass
- Kevin Coley: Drums
When did the band form?
Pangolin technically formed in 2016 in Brunswick, Georgia and released a handful of singles. I (Gary Pounds) relocated to Orlando in 2018 and, with the blessings of the former members of Pangolin, reformed with new members from Orlando instead of throwing away the name and songs and starting from scratch. We started writing additional new music and performed our first show with the new lineup April of 2019.
Currently available releases:
Websites:
Bandcamp
Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @PangolinFL
Describe your sound in five words:
Fun, Fast and Silly Punk
Five questions:
What has been your most memorable show so far?
Definitely playing the Lakeland Punk Rock Flea Market. Partly because it was a very large crowd, the biggest we’ve played to so far, but also because we have a song called “Song For Dogs” that is exactly what it sounds like. We had yet to get to play this song FOR actual dogs until this show where there were dozens of dogs. It was the highlight of our time as a band.
Which local band is your favorite one to play a show with?
The ProblemaddictsFL and Never Ender: They’re technically from down the road a bit but they’re here playing all the time. Their songs are so incredibly catchy and they’re great guys. Their shows are always a good time. If you need a band from Orlando proper, Our Escape is coming up and they are unbelievably tight and technical. So much fun to watch. Feel free to take what you need from this. The Orlando punk scene has a lot of bands from just outside of Orlando that are practically locals with how often they’re here.
What description gets used for your band that you would most like to correct people on? Why?
We’ve heard some say we’re kind of a “joke band,” which is understandable considering we have a song about Bill Paxton, King Kong, not wanting to do LSD and tacos. But we’re capable of writing more serious stuff. It’s just not something that we like to bring out in our music all the time. We want people to have fun and laugh when they see or hear us, but we also work really hard to write good music that we’re proud of. We’re just trying to have as much fun with this as possible and not take ourselves too seriously. Having been in metal bands and years of writing super serious stuff, it’s mentally taxing to live in that headspace musically.
What’s your favorite thing about being an Orlando band? What's your least favorite? Why?
The best thing about being an Orlando band is how talented all the other bands here are. Any of the bands we’ve played with in the short time we’ve been active in Orlando could blow up and be huge any day now. That’s how good they are. The least favorite thing about being an Orlando band is parking on Mills Ave.
Any big news to share?
Yes! Our new album Volume 2: Now, That’s The Spirit! released on October 31 and is available now everywhere music is available! Please give it a listen!
